Never Again
by MoonFairy
Summary: Bloodstained and dark, the Kuwabara sibling’s past is shrouded in mystery. However, one question remains, how far did Shizuru go to protect her brother?


Title: Never Again By: MoonFairy Rating: R (Warning: This story contains scenes of abuse and may not be suitable for all audiences) Summary: Bloodstained and dark, the Kuwabara sibling's past is shrouded in mystery. However, one question remains, how far did Shizuru go to protect her brother?  
  
AN - I'm sitting hear listening to 'Numb' (by Linkin Park, and is an awesome song) and was suddenly struck by how no one knows anything about Kazuma and Shizuru's past. So, here is my version, don't like it, tough. And this is also my first songfic, some it might need some work.  
  
Yu Yu Hakusho © 1992 Yoshihiro Togashi/Shueisha · Fuji TV · Pierrot Never Again © NickelBack  
  
***  
  
He's drunk again, it's time to fight  
  
She must have done something wrong tonight  
  
The living room becomes a boxing ring  
  
It's time to run when you see him  
  
Clenching his hands  
  
She's just a woman  
  
Never Again  
  
Five year old Kazuma Kuwabara bounced the ball against the tiled floor of his bedroom, brown eyes flickering towards the closed door. The little boy glanced at the fading sun through his window, and night was fast approaching. A sudden shiver stole through his tiny body, and Kazuma walked on pudgy legs to his bed. Curling in a feeble ball under his covers, Kazuma feared something worse than the impending darkness.  
  
The tiny click of his door opening rang through the too silent room made the boy tense, and Kazuma's eight year old sister, Shizuru, poked her head in. Relaxing, the boy smiled brightly, something akin to 'hero-worship' shining in his eyes. The girl just sent him something like a smirk, which would develop in years to come.  
  
The slamming of the front door caused both children to tense, and Shizuru quickly closed the door behind her, locking it. Looking fearfully at the closed door, Shizuru made her way to her brother's bed. Crawling under the covers and clutching the boy to her, the two siblings tried to block out the screams of anger and shattering glass.  
  
I hear her scream, from down the hall  
  
Amazing she can even talk at all  
  
She cries to me, Go back to bed  
  
I'm terrified that she'll wind up  
  
Dead in his hands, She's just a woman  
  
Never Again  
  
Kazuma clutched at his sister like a lifeline, watching the door warily as the yelling died down. Kazuma looked up at his sister, brown eyes wide with innocence. Shizuru just continued to hug him, glaring hatefully at the wall over her brother's mop of brown hair.  
  
"Nee-chan?"  
  
"Hush, Kazu."  
  
"When is daddy gonna stop drinking that nasty stuff? It makes mommy sad."  
  
The eight year old just stroked her brother's hair, eyes aged with a maturity beyond her years. No child should ever have eyes like that. The sudden pounding on Kazuma's door made both children tense. Swearing in her own child curses, Shizuru grabbed Kazuma, dragging him off the bed.  
  
Been there before, but not like this  
  
Seen it before, but not like this  
  
Never before have I ever  
  
Seen it this bad  
  
She's just a woman  
  
Never Again  
  
"Be quiet, Kazu."  
  
"Shizy?"  
  
The girl ignored her brother's frightened plea, and practically threw Kazuma under his bed. Grabbing the pillows off his bed, Shizuru continued to ignore the hammering on the door as she made a simple barricade to keep Kazuma from being spotted. Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, Shizuru unlocked the door slowly and watched with growing terror as it was flung open.  
  
Kazuma covered his ears as his father began yelling at his sister, unaware that the man who sired them was taking sadistic pleasure from his vulnerable daughter. Inaudible sobs wracked Kazuma's small body as the sounds of flesh striking flesh, and he clenched his eyes shut to stop watching the shadows that portrayed a man repeatedly striking his daughter.  
  
Just tell the nurse, you slipped and fell  
  
It starts to sting as it starts to swell  
  
She looks at you, she wants the truth  
  
It's right out there in the waiting room  
  
With those hands  
  
Lookin just as sweet as he can  
  
Never Again  
  
Kazuma held his sister's hand as Shizuru led him to his kindergarten classroom. The elder Kuwabara's back was straight and proud, daring any to stare at the bruises marring her tanned skin. Outside the door, she crouched in front of him, and held Kazuma's cheeks in her hands.  
  
"Remember Kazuma, you have to be strong. Even if you are weak now, you can't let them see any weaknesses, remember?"  
  
Kazuma nodded, and both children froze as the door opened. Out walked Mrs. Yukio, Kazuma's teacher. The woman instantly frowned when she spotted the bruises that Shizuru was covered in as the girl got up.  
  
"Shizuru Kuwabara, where on earth did you get those bruises?  
  
"I fell out of a tree; Kazuma's cat got stuck in it and I had to get it down."  
  
The dubious look on the woman's face still remained, but she did not question Shizuru's explanation. Kazuma looked up at his sister as she gave him a confident grin, and his adoration of her grew some more. Too bad he could not see the pain that was reflecting in her brown eyes.  
  
"Hey! Kuwabaka!"  
  
"Ura'eshi, you- you- you meany!"  
  
"Look, you're so dumb you can't even say my name right!"  
  
Kazuma ran into the room, determined to beat Yusuke Urameshi, who thankfully made the boy forget his worries.  
  
Seen it before, but not like this  
  
Been there before, but not like this  
  
Never before have I ever  
  
Seen it this bad  
  
She's just a woman  
  
Never Again  
  
Shizuru carefully brushed some strands of hair out of her brother's sleeping face. Fading bruises that were turning a sickly greenish tinge ached from the movement, but Shizuru ignored it. Her brother was more important.  
  
A bruise of his own reflected in the dim light on his cheek, and Shizuru had to restrain herself from screaming at the man she called 'father'. He was sleeping his drunken stupor and anything that woke him up suffered his wrath. And she wasn't strong enough, not yet.  
  
Sighing, Shizuru let out a low hiss, and with one last glance to her injured brother, she headed to her own room for a few hours of rest.  
  
Father's a name you haven't earned yet  
  
You're just a child with a temper  
  
Haven't you heard "Don't hit a lady"?  
  
Kickin' your ass would be a pleasure  
  
"Go to hell!"  
  
The stubby crayon in Kazuma's hand paused, and he looked up to meet his sister's eyes from across the room. Shizuru moved slightly from her sentinel position, trying to gauge exactly which place in the house her parent's fights were coming from.  
  
Walking to the window, she gazed on with detached eyes as her mother walked out of the house, crying and screaming at the same time. Eyes slowly widening with comprehension as her mother slammed the door to her car, and Shizuru shook her head as if trying to deny the fact of her mother's betrayal.  
  
Shaking in anger as the car pulled away from the house and the screaming man in the drive way, Shizuru walked to her brother and pulled him into a hug.  
  
Don't worry Kazuma; I will always protect you.  
  
He's drunk again, it's time to fight  
  
Same old shit, just on a different night  
  
She grabs the gun, she's had enough  
  
Tonight she'll find out how fucking  
  
Tough is this man  
  
Pulls the trigger just as fast as she can  
  
Never Again  
  
The wind roared in ferocity of the approaching storm, efficiently concealing the screams of anguish that wracked Shizuru's small body. Spitting up some blood as she starred down into Kazuma's terrified eyes, and she gave him a small, bloody, grin.  
  
Shielding his body with hers, Shizuru tried to keep Kazuma as protected as possible. Letting out another scream as the belt tore into her tender back, Shizuru choked on another sob. Kazuma clutched as his sister's tattered shirt, crying out in fear and panic.  
  
As the belt rose again, Shizuru just looked down at her brother, trying to give him some comfort.  
  
Don't worry Kazuma; I will always protect you.  
  
Seen it before, but not like this  
  
Been there before, but not like this  
  
Never before have I ever  
  
Seen it this bad  
  
She's just a woman  
  
Never Again  
  
El Fin  
  
One question before I run for my life; does anyone know how to make italics work when you have Windows XP? Fanfic.net seems to hate me.   
  
Ja! 


End file.
